Dashing Through The Snow

Local Adirondack farms provide horse-drawn sleigh rides, home-style cooking, history lessons and a unique North Country experience

Story and photos by Sam Hollingsworth

Horse-drawn sleigh rides through white woods and over frozen lakes are a unique thrill that have been used since the early 1800s. Like so many childhood Christmas songs, riding on a sled, while laughing gleefully, in the frigid winter weather can actually be an entertaining activity.

When considering the idea, one might think that a horse-drawn sled is hard to find, too expensive and/or just not worth the time and effort. But it's true; these rides are completely feasible and potentially nothing short of special. The Adirondack Mountains, among the oldest mountains in the entire world, along with eager-to-sleigh northeasterners, plenty of snow and two Clydesdale horses with a sled, is what regional sleigh ride companies have to offer.

There are three establishments in the Adirondacks that offer these rides, each different in their own way, whether it is a family trip in the holiday season or a charmed wedding proposal in the wake of March.

XTC Ranch & Sleigh Rides

A 150-acre "magical winter wonderland," according to its web site, XTC Ranch & Sleighs has been featured in television shows, on channels like MTV and HGTV, as well as newspaper articles from local papers all around the northeast and national newspaper, USA Today. The ranch is listed as one of the best in the country for horse-drawn sleigh rides in the brisk winter months, located in Lake Clear, New York, just outside of Saranac Lake. XTC Ranch claims to not only offer unforgettable memories in the evening snow, but also promises to please with its home-style cooking reminiscent of the wild west in the early 1800s, which can be offered as part of the ride.

"We've been doing this for 20 years," employee Harvey Goodman said. "We are the only ranch with a log cabin and music to go along with our one-of-a-kind dinner."

The homemade dinner, complete with a succulent white-meat chicken, corn-bread stuffing, whole cranberries and western-style string beans, is the closest you'll get to a meal from the western era. The chicken is simmered in gravy with a crunchy topping, served along with warm cinnamon biscuits- sure to complete your "frigid fantasy" in the mountains. The meal finishes up with a chocolate-fudge brownie and "real cowboy coffee," coffee that is "made over a fire with beans in water," according to Goodman. XTC Ranch also offers a kid's meal, vegetarian choices and salad upon request.

"History is very important to us because in this mad world we live in today, 90% of the children do not know what farm life is truly like"

The total cost for a sleigh ride and dinner is $37 for children 10 and under and $55 for adults, gratuities not included. Sleigh rides without dinner take approximately 30 minutes and cost $15 per person, gratuities not included. Another available package is a private group sleigh ride for four to six people, which costs between $75 and $85.

Adirondack Mountain & Lake Placid Sleigh Rides

Owned and operated by Plattsburgh-based Country Dreams Farm, Adirondack Mountain & Lake Placid Sleigh Rides presents a similar atmosphere to XTC Ranch in regards to sleigh rides, but also carries a strong sense of history. The farm offers a farm museum, authentic blacksmith and demonstrations on candle making and corn husking. "History is very important to us because in this mad world we live in today, 90% of the children do not know what farm life is truly like," Country Dreams Farm owner, Melissa Monty-Provost said. "It's sad."

With that, it's no surprise the farm offers Belgian-draft horse-drawn sleigh rides in addition to their youth summer camp, petting zoo, seasonal corn mazes, and pumpkin picking, as well as a large number of other original farm life experiences.

Located on Mirror Lake, in Lake Placid, New York, and complimented by the phenomenal backdrop of Whiteface Mountain, Adirondack Mountain & Lake Placid Sleigh Rides does not have a signature home-style cook on hand. Instead it recommends a visit to the Whiteface Club and Resort, which offers a wide variety of winter foods composed by some of the top chefs in the world, on Saturdays only. As part of the sleigh ride, the sled stops at an Adirondack log lean-to where a roaring fire and hot chocolate or tea awaits guests before they set back out into the evening snow. But Monty-Provost claims that visitors get so much more than just a ride.

"It's so much more than a sleigh ride," she said. "Visitors get historic talks, petting zoos with animals like pot-bellied pigs and donkeys and learn all kinds of farm life processes. Young kids can even help brush the horses as well as pet and ride them." It is important for this establishment to preserve farming and its characteristics, so if a historical experience is what you're looking for, this is the place for you.

The 30 to 40 minute sleigh rides run from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. every day, weather permitting, and rates run between $10 for children ages 12 and under and $35 for adults. Private romantic sleigh rides are also available at a cost of $150 per couple. Placed in the heart of the "Olympic Village" that has hosted the winter Olympics twice, Lake Placid also offers a variety of winter activities to keep even the pickiest person busy, including ski jumps, bobsled runs, luges, toboggan slides, snowshoeing, cross-country and downhill skiing, ice fishing and ice skating, just to name some.

Circle B Ranch

This Chestertown, New York, ranch's busiest time of year is the summer when they offer hourly horseback trail rides, pony rides, hay rides and lessons on riding, taming and training a horse. In the winter season, the ranch offers horseback riding in addition to sleigh rides, which can be group rides or private rides. Circle B Ranch is closer to the Hudson Valley, located just north of Lake George, New York.

Group sleigh rides are offered in Circle B's one-of-a-kind homemade group sled, which is equipped with high walls and padded benches, carrying up to 12 passengers. The couples' sleigh is the standard Currier and Ives sled offered by other ranches located more north and is common for romantic rides. The ranch is open throughout the summer but operates by reservation only during holidays, weekends and weekday evenings in the winter, spring and fall seasons.

Founded in 1961, Circle B Ranch also offers many other horse-friendly options, such as "vacationing with your horse," when they offer to house and feed customers' horse(s) for a fee while they stay across the street at an Adirondack hotel called Atateka Lodges during the night.

Winter sleigh ride rates are $48 per couple in the Currier and Ives sled, while $100 can reserve the entire group sled for a 45-minute ride through the woods and meadows. Individually, the group sled seats are free for children under 4, $9 for ages 4-12, and $12 per adult. This ranch would be an obvious pick for a family who resides around Saratoga Springs, New York, and was not interested in a drive to Lake Placid but still wanted to have that special Adirondack experience.

So, just because winter is associated with cold, and cold is associated with staying indoors, doesn't mean you have to. It may be chilly outside but with an outrageous mountain range in your backyard and a strong sense of history, Adirondack life can take you anywhere you please. If it's horse-drawn sleigh rides through the meadows that catch your attention, stop wondering and schedule a ride!

Have you tried any of these winter sleigh ride adventures?

XTC Ranch & Sleigh Rides
HCR I, Box 282
Lake Clear , NY 12945
1-800-613-6033 or
518-891-5684 email: info@adirondacksnowmobiling.com

Country Dreams Farm
260 Pellerin Rd.
Plattsburgh , NY
518-561-8941
cdfarm@charter.net